Scripture: Psalm 63; Matthew 6:33
Theme: Passion
Title: I earnestly search for you!
I. Declare that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY Is Your GOD
II. Secondly, David tells us that we are to serve the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY with passion
III. Finally, David understood the importance of perseverance in His walk with the LORD
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about passion. I want to talk to you today about what it means to for us to be passionate about our walk with the LORD. I want to talk to you today about what it means to be so passionate about following the LORD that “your soul thirsts for the LORD and you whole body longs for the LORD”.
This is where we find David in Psalm 63. Once again, David is in the wilderness hiding out from some enemies. Who those enemies are we are not sure. If the psalm was written before David became king then those enemies would have most likely been King Saul and his troops.
If, however, the Psalm was written after David became king then it is most likely when David was hiding from his son Absolom and his militia when they tried to overtake the kingdom and kill King David. Either way, David is in the wilderness hiding out from those that want to kill him.
It is in the midst of all this trial that we hear David’s true passion in life rise to the surface. What David wants most comes to the surface. And what David wants most is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
That may sound strange to some of us today. For most people when they are in danger they may not seek the LORD first and foremost. The Lord may not be in the picture at all. Instead, they may be more focused on things like food, shelter, clothing, safety or even finances or pleasure.
But that is not what we find with David. When David found himself in the wilderness, fleeing for his life, his thoughts and his heart turned towards the LORD. David understood a very foundational truth; that truth being that a person’s true center must be cemented in the LORD. David understood that his relationship with the LORD was the most important thing in this life.
Later on we see Jesus commenting on the same thing when he reminds his listeners in His Sermon on the Mount:
“Seek first the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteous, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:33 ESV
I don’t know about you but I find that remarkable. I find it remarkable that a person can have their primiary focus not on themselves, on their own safety but to having their passion, their primary focus on the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
But as much as I find it remarkable, I also realize that all of us that are Christ followers are called to do the same thing. We are called to be passionate about our relationship with Jesus. We are called to live a life of passion towards the Lord, towards holiness and a life of righteousness.
How do we do that?
Where do we start?
Let’s take some time this morning and see what advice David gives us here in Psalm 63:
I. Declare that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY Is Your GOD
David starts off making a very clear and loud declaration.
“O God, you are my God”
This was not the first time that David made this declaration.
Psalm 16:2
“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.”
Psalm 31:14
“But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, “You are my God!”
Psalm 140:6
“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my God!’ Listen, O Lord to my cries for mercy’”
Ever since David was a young lad tending his father’s sheep on the hillsides he had made a commitment to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. He would follow God. He would declare to all those around him that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY would be his God now and forevermore.
We do the same thing when we are baptized. When we go into the water, after we have received the LORD JESUS CHRIST as our Savior and LORD, we are making a public statement concerning our passion and center of life. We are saying in effect that we are not only a new creation but that we want the LORD to be the center of our lives. We are saying with David and with many others that it is our mission, it is our passion that the LORD is our God; our only God.
David is making more than a mere philosophical statement here in this beginning verse. He is deciding more than just following a certain set of rules and regulations. He is declaring once and all that seeking God will be his life’s passion.
He wants a personal relationship with God. He doesn’t want any other gods in his life. David is not seeking some false god, money, fame, pleasure or even his family. He wants the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY to be His God.
And the only way for God to be his God is for David to be totally dedicated and committed to God. He understood very well the commandments that God wrote out for the people of Israel and gave to Moses. He understood that God Himself said –
“You must not have any other god but me” – Exodus 20:3
You may remember at the time that Moses received that commandment the land that God’s people had been living in (Egypt) served some 29 main gods and at least 2,000 lesser gods. And now that the God’s people were living in the Promise Land there were still hundreds of gods vying for worship and commitment.
David puts a stake in the ground and declares that he will only serve the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. He will serve neither the gods of Egypt nor the gods of the Canaanites. He will not serve any god but the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY maker of Heaven and Earth.
Today, whether we acknowledge it or not, we have hundreds of gods around us. We have the false gods of false religions. We have the false gods of Hollywood. We have the false gods of Wall Street. We have the false gods of humanism and materialism. We have the false gods of entertainment and self-gratification.
As important as it was in David’s day it is just as important today that we put our stake in the ground and declare that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is Our God. We need to publicly state that we will serve no other God. And we need to passionately declare and commit our lives; our hearts, our minds and our souls to Him who is King of Kings and LORD of LORDS.
II. Secondly, David tells us that we are to serve the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY with passion
David not only voices his allegiance, his commitment to the LORD he goes on to live it out. He actively lives out his commitment with God with his hands, his feet and his voice. He actively lives out his commitment to the LORD with his soul, his mind and his body.
David believes that it is possible for a person to have a passionate relationship with the LORD; a relationship that is more than following rules and regulations. A relationship that mirrors that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and that of Enoch and Moses.
Of those individuals, Enoch’s life grabbed my attention recently.
In our Bibles there is not very much written about Enoch. But what is written literally speaks volumes.
If you look at Genesis chapter five we find some vital key insights. In verse 21 we find where it says that Enoch lived in close relationship with God and then in verse 24 we read that Enoch walked in close relationship with God.
Lived in close relationship and walked in close relationship. Those are two sides of a very wonderful and passionate relationship with God.
Now, it is important to understand that what we don’t read is that Enoch was perfect. He was not. He was a man born into a world of sin just like the rest of us. But at some point in his life (very early according to the ancient rabbis) Enoch chose the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY to be his God.
And then he does something more. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY was not just his God, the one he would pay homage to, the one he would worship and serve but He was more. God is the one who Enoch believed that he could be close to, so close that he could literally listen to Him, talk to Him and walk with Him.
Later on we see these same words germane to the spiritual lives of Abraham and Moses. They too believed that they could listen to God, talk to God and walk with God.
The idea is that somewhere in all of their minds that they could experience this supernatural walk with God. That is to say they could converse with God, they could enjoy God’s company and they could be friends with God. This was especially true in Enoch’s life.
I have a suspicion that Enoch spent some quality time talking to Adam. After all, for over 300 years they both lived on the earth at the same time. We tend to forget that when we read the book of Genesis. Adam was 622 years old when Jared and his wife had Enoch. Adam died when he was 930 years so they both lived on the earth together for more than 300 years.
You have to believe that these two men knew each other and spent time with one another. I personally believe that Enoch talked to Adam about the Garden of Eden and heard the stories about how Adam and God would walk in the cool of the garden together. And I believe that Enoch not only heard those stories but there was something down deep in his soul that passionately desired that same type of relationship and experience with God.
Why shouldn’t Enoch want that same type of relationship and experience?
Why shouldn’t Enoch, Moses, Abraham, David and millions more not only passionately want that type of relationship and experience with God but actually enjoy that type of relationship and experience?
The results of the Fall may at first separate us from God but it does not make it impossible for us to listen to God, talk to God or walk with God. The same Holy Spirit that came down in a mighty way on Pentecost has always sought to be active in people’s hearts from the very beginning of time. God’s Holy Spirit has always found a way for men, women, boys and girls to have a deep passionate relationship with Him.
The problem with having a close relationship with God does not originate nor is it sustained from God’s side. God has always desired to have a passionate relationship with us. After all, we were made in His image and likeness. We were created to be One with Him.
This is what Enoch understood. This is what Abraham and Moses understood and this is what David deeply understood. All of them and many others at some point in their lives have decided that it is possible for them to get close to God. It is possible to get so close that you could actually walk and talk with God. It is possible to get so close to God that you could spend each day with God.
I think we can say this is the life that John Wesley lived out. This is the life that Billy Graham and Mother Theresa lived out. This is the life that billions of people have lived since the dawn of time.
This is the life that we can experience and many here are living out that life.
Again, walking with God will naturally lead us to a life of holiness but it doesn’t mean that we will ever be faultless in all the things that we do each day. I am sure if we had a day to day video of Enoch’s life, Moses’ life and David’s life we would see plenty of times that they missed the mark.
But we would also see that at their core, at the center of their lives they were determined not just to call the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY their God, but they were willing to do everything they could to continually enjoy a deep relationship with God. They knew how to repent and confess their need for God to amend their ways and show them the way towards righteousness (right living).
And we can as well. We may not be an Enoch, a David or even a Hannah or a Ruth. We may not be a Mother Mary or a Dorcas or even a Peter or Paul. But we can join them in being passionate in our walk and in our relationship with God. We can open up our hearts, minds and souls and invite the LORD to spend the day with us. We can open up ourselves to the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit as we wake up, as we do our house chores, go to work, and drive our car or the other hundred things that we have to do.
I believe this morning, that we can experience as much of God as they did in their time. In fact, I believe we can experience more of God than they did today because of what Jesus did on the cross. I believe we can have a passionate walk with the LORD that is even greater than the one King David experienced. I believe it is ours for the taking and I believe we have an open invitation from the LORD to do so.
III. Finally, David understood the importance of perseverance in His walk with the LORD
We know this morning that David understood that one can choose the LORD to be the sole center of their lives.
We also know that David knew what it meant to go all out for the LORD.
And we know that David knew what it meant to possess staying power in his commitment and in his passion for the LORD.
In verse 1, David writes about a parched and weary land. He writes about a land that is unforgiving and a land that brings great hardship. He writes about a place that tests a person’s heart, soul and mind.
And yet, in the midst of this dry and weary land (experience) we read how David stays true to his center. David stays true to the LORD. David continues to do what he can to have a deep relationship with the LORD. He doesn’t abandon his faith or his passion for the LORD. There is simply no quit in David. In the midst of a place of hardship David knows how to persevere.
It is important to remember that this wilderness journey was not of David’s choosing. He was having to hide from his enemies. And whether those enemies were King Saul’s troops or Absalom’s troop they were still a real threat to David’s existence.
What is interesting is that if it were King Saul’s troops then David found himself in the wilderness because he had been successful as God’s soldier and as a leader. King Saul was hunting David because he was jealous of David’s success and popularity. King Saul was jealous because of David’s anointing and deep relationship with the LORD.
And, if it were Absalom’s troops then David found himself in the wilderness because he had unadvisedly distanced himself from his own people and his own son. In other words, his misfortune had been self-inflicted.
David here joins Abraham in the land of Egypt. David joins Moses in the wilderness. David joins Hannah pouring out her heart because she is barren. David joins Ruth as she struggles to rake in enough grain to feed her and Naomi for one more day.
David connects with the woman in Jesus’ parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. You may remember this woman did not give up even though time after time the judge refused her justice. While others quit she kept coming until the judge finally relented. She wanted justice and she had made up her mind that she was going to keep coming until her last breath.
That was the way it was with David. In the midst of all his shortcomings and as you read his story you encounter several of them, the one thing David was determined to do was to keep his relationship with God intact. Even when David stumbled he got up, repented and did everything he could to re-connect with the LORD.
What David did not know at the time was that God was never going to leave him. Oh, there were times when because of David’s foolishness, hardheadedness and hardheartedness that he could not hear God but the fact remains that the LORD was always watching over David and taking care of him.
The other day I watched part of a sports game on TV. One team was in the lead almost the whole game but then in the final minutes of the game the other team came back and won the game.
When they were talking to the coach of the losing team he pointed out that his team had done an excellent job for about 46 minutes of the 48 minutes the team played. What happened was they started slacking up and then gave up the last two minutes. They would have won the game if they had just persevered; if they had just played out the game the last two minutes like they did the first 46 minutes of the game.
This is the same message that we find over and over again in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation. Each of the 7 Churches was challenged to set their houses in order and to persevere. They were challenged to remember things like their first love, to repent of some wrongdoings and then to hold fast. If they did that they will not only see the victory they would experience the victory.
It is not easy to persevere.
Especially in our current age.
There are a lot of headwinds that are coming against people in general and the Church in particular. Some of those headwinds originate from demonic sources while others are of humankinds own foolishness and sin.
There are many things that can tempt us as a corporate church and as individuals to just quit. To give up. To sit on the sidelines. To allow depression and stagnation to take over our lives and our churches. To wallow in our troubles and tribulations. To think all is lost.
But if we think that way what will it get us?
If David had thought that way in the wilderness where would that had gotten him? Or Abraham in Egypt or Ruth in Moab or Paul in prison?
No, I believe that there is another way; a more excellent way.
I believe more than ever today the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is at work. I believe that this is the day more than any before where the doors to experiencing a passionate relationship with God is possible and I believe that if we will just persevere we will see our best days ever.
Why do I believe that?
Because I believe in God. Because I know God.
Our LORD did not die on the cross, resurrect and send His Holy Spirit so that we could live a defeated life.
Our Lord did not die on the cross, resurrect and send His Holy Spirit so that we could live a distant, impoverished and weak Christian life.
Just the opposite.
Jesus tells us that all authority in heaven and on earth is His. He tells us that in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we can experience a life that is truly amazing. A life that we see lived out in the book of Acts and in the letters of the Apostles.
A life that is ours if we
+Will determine today, tomorrow and for the rest of our lives that the Lord God Almighty; Father, Son and Holy Spirit is our God.
+Will determine today, tomorrow and for the rest of our lives that to the best of our ability we will live a passionate, committed and consecrated life; a life of holiness and righteousness.
+Will determine today, tomorrow and for the rest of our lives that no matter what battles, struggles and trials that come our way we are going to go with God.
If we do that then I believe that not only will we draw closer to the Lord but that our lives will experience more anointing, more miracles and more good things than we could ever imagine.
I believe if we do that then we will say with the Apostle Paul”
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father [f]of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV
Closing
Invitation/Prayer/Blessing
